Single purpose air freshener units are used in various forms. These include free standing units, spray units, spray units with an absorbent and those that are plugged into a source of electricity. The function of each is to put a fragrance into a room to replace a foul or stale odor. However, these are all single purpose units. They solely are air freshener units.
It has been known to combine air freshener units with other products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,706 discloses an air freshener in combination with a waste container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,787 discloses an aromatic dispensing device as a part of eyeglasses. U.S. Pat. No. 2,657,090 discloses a base that can be attached to a container, the base dispensing a volatizable material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,603 discloses a container where a fragrance is emitted when the container is in an open orientation. Japanese Utility Model JP-U-58-130441 discloses a flower pot with an aromatic unit in a base stand. And Japanese Utility Model JP-U-60-60300 discloses a vase or ornament with a base stand that has an aromatic unit.
Additional prior art includes U.S. Patent Application 2002/0030116 A1 which discloses various embodiments of air freshener units in combination with a hand lotion dispenser. The air freshener unit can be located at the base or at an upper portion of the hand lotion dispenser.
These are interesting structures for the combination of an air freshener unit with a container. However, they do not disclose a structure where the unit can be opened and closed to control the dispensing of an air freshener fragrance. Further there is no disclosure as to how to use available space on a container for an air freshener unit.